The Midnight Carousel
by Anonamazing
Summary: ' "Trust me," I say gently, smoothing a strand of hair into place. Her skin trembles at my touch. "I'll make sure you're safe, don't worry. Come with me, lolly-pop." ' A look into The Scorpion's past. Scorpion x OC/Painted Doll
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

**Punishment**

"Raymond Pye," read the Gate Keeper, as the boy stood in the dock below. He was a cocky little git, that he could see already; typical Greaser, adorned in a well-worn pair of Levi jeans, an off-white wife beater which had seen far too many washes, and an over-sized hand-me-down leather jacket. The hair on him was so thick with astringent grease that it was on the verge of offensive. He stood with the stance of someone ready to take on the world, though all the falsities he could muster could not hide his abrasive nerves underneath it all.

The boy gulped at the mention of his real name. Nobody called him Raymond; well, none except his Ma, and that was only when she was angry with him, which seemed to be most of the time nowadays. Jeez, he hoped she'd be okay. To everyone else, he was Rae.

So this is what it was like, being dead. Hmm. He'd expected something a little more... final. This juridical hall was plain and motionless, and full of bland, unwholesome men and women. There was a two-tier system to his left; on the top row sat a line of six plain-looking people, all of an indistinct age, dressed in plain white garb. Below them sat a row of six equally bland individuals, the only difference being that they wore black as opposed to white.

"Raymond Pye!" Screamed the Gate Keeper, an elderly man with thick, round glasses and a key around his withered neck.

Ray turned, and the old man shook his head at him, before continuing to read from his papers.

"These are the scrolls of your life," the old man declared, holding them up so that all might look upon them. The old Gate Keeper unravelled them and they fell to a dismally short stop. One was white, the other black; Ray grimaced upon seeing that the black scroll ran far longer than its white counterpart.

"Upon these scrolls are written all of your good and bad deeds. Here we shall determine whether you progress to sanctuary," the Gate Keeper said, "or Damnation. Let us begin."

Quickly, the man began to read off all the good deeds; small, menial things, such as 'helped a young girl get her cat from a tree' and 'smiled at the lonely girl out of genuine pity' appeared, but nothing life-changing. When the bad list began, it seemed as though the sins would never stop.

"Sexual deviant," read the Gate Keeper as the list neared its end, "seducer of the vulnerable and gullible. Narcissistic tenancies and a compulsion to lie to the impressionable. Total disregard for the emotions of the opposite sex."

Ray shrugged uneasily, trying for a charming smile.

The Gatekeeper was not convinced.

"Raymond Pye," he declared, "by the powers granted me I do hereby declare that you shall not be granted the gift of eternal salvation, and shall from this day forward be cast into the gates of-"

"Oh, come on!" Ray tried, "so I bedded a few slutty girls. Does that really mean I deserve- whatever it is that you want to put me through?!"

With a sour expression, the Gate Keeper leaned over the desk.

"Yes," he said, and rolled the scrolls. "Adjourned!"

Swiftly, two bare-skinned figures appeared beside Ray, and with a lurch of his stomach and a cloud of black, inky smoke, he found himself standing in another place; what looked like a circus ring. A host of vibrant, grotesque carnival hands were stood in a semi-circle to Ray's back; the dark figures whom had brought him here, two beautiful dark-haired vixens in tight, revealing performance costumes, stroked their hands over Ray desperately for a minute then disappeared backwards into the crowd. Ray looked around after them, but found instead a worn-looking man who clearly was full of disdain for being in the room.

"Let's get this over with," said the Ticket Keeper.

"Ray," he said, looking the boy up and down, "welcome to the Carnival. As you can see we're not too busy at the moment, which is why these lot are so excitable; what are you down here for, then?"

Ray looked about, confused. "Is this-?"

"Yes, it is; now come on, have out with it."

"Ah- apparently I've been corrupting innocent girls for too long and this is my punishment."

The Ticket-Keeper looked at him. "Seducer, eh?"

Ray rolled his shoulders, nodded a little.

The Ticket Keeper glanced over the boy; he certainly looked the part. Seemed slimy enough to have the charm, too, and had the bonus points of past experience.

"How would you feel about a job offer, my boy?"

"...What?"

"It's not a bad offer- eternal youth, sex if you want it with all the girls you have to-"

"Wait a sec- girls?"

"_Lots_ of girls."

Ray smiled. Jesus, this was the best offer he'd ever had; and here he was expecting fires and pain for all eternity. Sex and eternal youth? He wasn't expecting that to be on the menu.

"What would I have to do?" He asked, a little geared up.

"Simple, really- out last seducing-type- uh- moved on, you might say. The job's there if you want it- all you have to do is pick up these girls, get them to trust you- have your way with them if you must- then kill them."

"Kill them?!"

"Oh, it's all very fruitless; it's a repetition process, you see. You'll be dealing with those women brought down here for being overly trusting, and you'll be killing the same ones over and over again until they learn their lesson. If they learn, they have a hope of going up; if not, well- it's the fires for them."

Ray nodded; he could get used to this.

"When do I start?"

"Control yourself," the Ticket Keeper ordered, flicking down his list. "You'll need to be shown the ropes first; do you have any circus skills? -Never mind, you'll have an eternity to learn. here, let's see if we can't find someone to give you the grand tour."

The group behind became excitable again, a funny looking, long man in a top hat calling out how he should surely be given the task. A lizard-like creature in a taller top hat discredited the others statement, and the two began a brawl which the Ticket Keeper quickly diminished.

"No, neither of you will do," he said, looking back upon his list. "Let's see... Tamer, you'll do."

"Good luck," the Ticket Keeper groaned as the two headed off, "I want you back here when the clock strikes next. I'll have your first assignment prepared."

"Will I get to meet- y'know, the big man?" Ray asked the Ticket Keeper, as his guide tried to beckon him onwards into the carnival.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, kid," replied the Ticket Keeper, shooing Ray away into the blinding whirl of the Carnival's glory.

**AN: Hey, guys! Hope you liked the first chapter. Thus story was originally published on my other account, but I've made that one exclusively for my fics which have over 100 followers. Leave a review if you can, and I look forward to seeing you again! All the best!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One:**

**Lost**

This time she sits with her back against a stall tent. She's never got this far before- I've always been able to find her. Little tears dance under her eyelids and her hands quiver, touching her neck gently.

This is my favourite part.

"Hey," I say, a friendly whisper, and she gives a little gasp before her eyes find me. They see my hair first, of course, then settle a moment on my midriff, on the crimson scarf, before finding my flash of teeth. She flinches a little when I crouch down to her, and I weaken my smile slightly.

"Hey," I repeat, this time like I'm trying to calm down a scared animal. She pushes away the tears and poises herself as though about to take flight; she did run off once- I had to chase her down. Took ages for me to get her trust that time.

"Are you okay?" I ask gently, hands lowered in a sign of disarmament. "Hey, don't worry- I'm not gonna hurt you." She seems unable to find words. I glance to my left and then over her shoulder. "Come on- let's get you out of here." I reach out for her hand and her wrist quivers like a bow in my grasp, unwilling as I pull a little to encourage her up onto her feet.

"Who are you?" She manages, head half-bowed with light eyes, red around the rims from her tears. I give a sweet laugh and lean a little closer to her- she flinches again.

"Call me Scorps. Everyone does."

It takes a few more seconds, but a twitching smile comes up on her face. I grin back and she follows shortly, that brilliance lighting her face that makes it hard to go ahead with this- occasionally.

Oh, who am I kidding?

_I fucking love it._

Watching their faces as they experience a million emotions in barely any time at all, coming up with new and shining ways to end it all. If this is what hell's like, I'm in Heaven.

"I'm E-"

"-mmaline," I finish, stroking the envelope in her hand, lightly brushing against her fingers. She flinches a little.

"Come on," I smirk, tugging at the embroidery of her dress gently.

"Where are we- _you_ going?" She asks, a whisper of fright in her voice.

"Somewhere exciting," I tell her with a wink.

It's been a long time since I've been listed one as introvert as this- usually they jump at the chance to be within 5 yards of me, and let's face it, not even the Lord himself could blame them for that. I usually get bequeathed your typical gullible teenager- absolutely gorgeous but thick as a tree trunk and without half the personality. Usually slappers who lose their panties as soon as a guy says the 'L' word, and we're not talking Lemonade here.

Ugh. _Love. _How disgusting.

My mind drifts back to the matter at hand- the girl, who is still looking at me with complete uncertainty.

"But I- I don't even know who you are-"

"Trust me," I say gently, smoothing a strand of hair into place. Her skin trembles at my touch- _still got it._

"I'll make sure you're safe, don't worry. Come with me, lolly-pop."

She watches me uneasily, but then shrugs and gives me a smile. I pull her to her feet and lead her through the dazzling lights of the Carnival.


End file.
